Leadership Institute For Ecology and the Economy Goes Carbon Neutral

Carbonfund.org Makes it Simple and Affordable for the Institute to Reduce its Climate Footprint

Santa Rosa, CA. September 23, 2005 —How does an organization that trains leaders about environmental and social justice deal with the paradox of its participants creating tailpipe emissions driving to and from classes and meetings? “We retire carbon credits,” said Ron Sundergill, President of the Leadership Institute For Ecology and the Economy.

The mission of the Institute is to train community leaders to create public policy that balances environmental and social equity concerns with economic interests to build sustainable communities. Participants in the training program meet one day every month, usually driving a car to attend.Sundergill noted, “It’s always bothered us that when people drive to our program to learn how they can make this a more sustainable world, we add CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. Sometimes we even feel a bit guilty for preaching to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while our activities actually contribute to the problem.

“I’ve seen activists compromised when labeled as hypocrites because they drove their cars to testify in support of legislation for cleaner air, even when they had no alternative but to drive.

“Recently, we discovered Carbonfund.org and realized they could sequester the estimated 30 tons of carbon created by our program annually, making the Institute ‘carbon neutral,’ We’re very excited that we can tell others that they can do the same for their families and organizations,” Sundergill explained.

“Carbonfund.org is thrilled to add the Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Environment to our growing list of companies and organizations that are reducing their climate footprints easily and affordably,” says Carbonfund President Lesley Marcus Carlson. “We created Carbonfund.org because the threat of climate change is too great to pass on to our children. We have to act now.”

Carbonfund.org’s concept is simple. We all contribute to climate change and global warming when we use energy in our homes, drive our cars and fly cross country or buy food and other goods. Carbonfund.org makes it easy for people to calculate their emissions and donate to offset them. Carbonfund.org uses the donations to support carbon dioxide reducing projects, such as wind energy, energy efficiency and sequestration. Donations to Carbonfund.org are tax deductible.

“We have created the easiest pathway for anyone to reduce their climate impact to zero,” adds Carlson. “This is a bottom-up approach that is incredibly simple and affordable. For about $8 a month anyone can reduce their climate footprint to zero. No politician or businessman can take away your right and ability to offset your climate impact.”